A group of Republican lawmakers want to know if banks doling out small business loans as part of the coronavirus relief package are discriminating against companies in the gun and energy sectors.
According to The Washington Free Beacon, 19 GOP senators — led by Kevin Cramer of North Dakota — sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, and Small Business Administration Administrator Jovita Carranza asking about reports of bias in the loan program.
"A vocal but small minority has weaponized federally-backed banks against politically disfavored businesses that operate in good faith and compliance with the law, by denying them financial services based on political reasons that have nothing to do with creditworthiness," the letter reads.
"Small business creation and ownership are the backbone of many of these industries and access to competitive and predictable capital, loans, and other financial services are critical as they seek to recover from the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic."
The letter adds, "We find it extremely disconcerting that, while the vast majority of SBA program lenders do not promote financial discrimination policies, many of the nation’s largest institutions currently do."
President Donald Trump signed into law last week legislation that authorized an additional $310 billion to be used for the Paycheck Protection Program after the initial $349 billion in funds were used up.
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